when did Glastonbury start using wristbands ?

[glasto-worker]

I worked on the gate in '86, and I've got to say I don't remember any wristbanding going on. Although it has to be said that I remember remarkably little of that weekend.

 

if we wind the clock back to 1986 { and the years before } - this is the site plan for 1986 

 

lets say you were working on the Main Gate the reason why you cant recall handing out weekend ticket holder wristband is because they were handed out ' before ' a car reached you.

 

were you working in what I would describe as a ' small Garden shed ' ? 

 

it was on the right hand side just feet before the entry point - I think they sold tickets there but as I always bought them in advance I never had any dealings with that shed .

 

Now I have no clue what the procedure was for people who were on foot but I know 100% that as cars drove down the public lane - there was Stewards and or security checking tickets - lets say there was four in my car - we handed over four tickets and they would hand us four weekend ticket holder wristband's ' that we were supposed to put on that second and they would hand back part of the ticket { I still have all my old tickets hence how I know they were handed back }

 

as we drove closer to the Main Gate we would wave our wrists but we would not need to get out of the car .

 

Not once did anyone check the boot - it was all very laid back

 

in later years this was changed as cars were diverted into a field and they would ask us to get out of the car - they would check we all were wearing a weekend ticket holder wristband's and then we would get in the car and then drive forward - we would park beside our tents { although in later years they did try to separate some parking  

 

As all the parking in the 80's was onsite 99.99%  would never leave the site .

 

For sure sometime in the 90's there may have been some off site parking but by then I was working at the festival so would never have seen any public car parks.

 

The re entry procedure is something I would not know about.

 

 

 

 

[musky]

Yeah, I remember that shed actually, it was on the left from my side of the gate - I've no idea what it was for as I never went on the other side of the gate. I don't remember any wristbands being shown, but I spent most of the weekend spectacularly of my head so it's hardly surprising really. I think that perhaps the wristbands weren't considered such a big deal at the time - I certainly didn't have one, even working there. Then again I didn't even have a proper ticket, just a photocopied bit of paper from the local CND. Compared to todays festival it's remarkable how ramshackle and disorganised the whole thing was, though that was the nature of the beast back then.

[glasto-worker]

Yeah, I remember that shed actually, it was on the left from my side of the gate - I've no idea what it was for as I never went on the other side of the gate. I don't remember any wristbands being shown, but I spent most of the weekend spectacularly of my head so it's hardly surprising really. I think that perhaps the wristbands weren't considered such a big deal at the time - I certainly didn't have one, even working there. Then again I didn't even have a proper ticket, just a photocopied bit of paper from the local CND. Compared to todays festival it's remarkable how ramshackle and disorganised the whole thing was, though that was the nature of the beast back then.

 

well when you think about it ' once a person walked or drove in they never left ' so really once onsite it was not a issue -  

 

so if I am reading this right ' you were onsite ' as I know 100% that shed was on my right as I drove down the lane ' before the actual pole . { most times there would only be two on the pole }

 

I never went in but I know why it was there - they were selling tickets from that shed .

 

have no clue how many people showed up wanting to buy one but I know they sold them .

 

when you compare now to then - there is no comparison - even driving in on a crew coach this year with all the correct passes on it ' they came on three times to check our crew wristbands ' even although two of the stops were fifty feet apart so they could see we had been checked.

 

I was well pissed off when I started working there in 1989 and never got a ticket - sure I got in but I was never issued with a ticket.

 

so are you still working at it ?

[musky]

so are you still working at it ?

 

No, that was a one off for me - I had my eyes well and truly opened to the joys of Glasto so I didn't want to miss a second of it after that. Mind you I was only doing 4 hour shifts so it wasn't exactly hard work. Like you say, we were working the gate in pairs, with some security guys behind us and a few standing outside the gate. As far as we were concerned we were the only ones checking tickets, so as far as I know once they were past us the were good to go. I'm trying to remember if we were even given vests or anything to identify us - if we were they must have been passed on to the next shift because we certainly didn't take them with us. It's hard to imagine that kind of security setup now - a couple of random spotty herberts opening a 5 bar farm gate ajar with the 'superfence' being a 5 foot tall picket fence!

 

Some people were leaving the site on Saturday morning - no idea where they were off to but I think you could still go to the shop in the village at the time. There must have been some kind of pass out system in place but I really can't remember - my memory of the weekend is mainly just snapshots.

 

I'll have to have a word with my mate who probably remembers more than I do. We've talked about it plenty of times since but never about the details of working - we weren't working the same shifts so it's never come up. Except for the bit about the convoy who decided they weren't going to wait for anyone to open the gate for them.

[glasto-worker]

No, that was a one off for me - I had my eyes well and truly opened to the joys of Glasto so I didn't want to miss a second of it after that. Mind you I was only doing 4 hour shifts so it wasn't exactly hard work. Like you say, we were working the gate in pairs, with some security guys behind us and a few standing outside the gate. As far as we were concerned we were the only ones checking tickets, so as far as I know once they were past us the were good to go. I'm trying to remember if we were even given vests or anything to identify us - if we were they must have been passed on to the next shift because we certainly didn't take them with us. It's hard to imagine that kind of security setup now - a couple of random spotty herberts opening a 5 bar farm gate ajar with the 'superfence' being a 5 foot tall picket fence!

 

Some people were leaving the site on Saturday morning - no idea where they were off to but I think you could still go to the shop in the village at the time. There must have been some kind of pass out system in place but I really can't remember - my memory of the weekend is mainly just snapshots.

 

I'll have to have a word with my mate who probably remembers more than I do. We've talked about it plenty of times since but never about the details of working - we weren't working the same shifts so it's never come up. Except for the bit about the convoy who decided they weren't going to wait for anyone to open the gate for them.

yes at the time the shops were still open although I doubt all that many were bothered to walk up .

 

I know none of the people I was with would have bothered .

 

at some point stewards were wearing vests but which year that was I would not have a clue.

 

I only would leave the site to go the staff car park but that was in the late 80's so I don't know what type pass out system was in place. 

 

over the years that convoy was attracting all sorts and their demands  got greater - Michael Eavis was being driven up the wall with them.

 

I know some people think they were the best thing since slice bread but they of course were not land owners.

 

you should have stuck with it - these days crew areas are all over the place - I know that our crew camp has moved every so often and its been going counter clockwise 

 

But I have never been in Goose Hall !! - the WBC has always used their  own catering Company { some better than others }

 

its certainly changed over the years that I have been working there - I used to know the main security supervisors but over the years they drop out or drop down dead .

 

There is no way would I show up as a punter although I am now well in the background { Production } so dont get about as much as I used to.

[wirralchris]

 

You have the bloody cheek to question me and its now clear the reason why you did not have a ' weekend ticket holder wristband ' was because you climbed over the bloody fence so no wonder you did not have a wristband. Tickets that were £65 

 

1995 was the year the perimeter fence was taken down at the top of the site aggravating the problems of trespass for other land owners adjoining the site and risking the whole festival license.

 

Mendip District Council estimate that in 1995 80,000 ' did not have tickets ' so doubling the attendance  

 

Clearly the re entry procedures is a ' completely different matter ' and Stewards { or security } will have to explain themselves why they were not checking that people did not have a weekend ticket holder wristband.

 

If you had bothered to buy tickets in 1995 you would have been issued a weekend ticket holder wristband.

 

You sure it was'nt 2000 that you're thinking of? The fence came down then, I had a ticket that year, and a wrist-band, They cancelled 2001 because of the gate-crashers, Introduced the superfence for 2002 and took Melvyn Benn onboard to help them with organisation

[glasto-worker]

You sure it was'nt 2000 that you're thinking of? The fence came down then, I had a ticket that year, and a wrist-band, They cancelled 2001 because of the gate-crashers, Introduced the superfence for 2002 and took Melvyn Benn onboard to help them with organisation

 

I know which year I mean - 1995

 

read http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/history/history-1995/

 

' The event was marred by the perimeter fence being taken down at the top of the site aggravating the problems of trespass for other land owners adjoining the site. '

 

I know about other years as after all I have been attending since 1979 and have never missed any 

 

by the the way its not Melvyn Benn - its Melvin Benn someone who I used to work beside in the WBC before Vince Power offered him a job.it was Vince Power and the Mean Fiddler who got the Glastonbury contract and how they ended up with a large proportion of the shares.

 

I do know because I also happen to know Vince and why I was loaned out to Mean Fiddler Production by the WBC on his request.

[5co77ie]

out of interest glasto-worker did you do many festivals in the early 80s or late 70s - I just wondered what the festival scene was like then - it's before my time.

[glasto-worker]

out of interest glasto-worker did you do many festivals in the early 80s or late 70s - I just wondered what the festival scene was like then - it's before my time.

 

well there was not many about - sure there was concerts but very few weekend festivals - I missed the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970 as I was living in Glasgow then and that would have cost a fortune to get to - if it had been held in 1980 I for sure would have gone .

 

I think some people look back and may assume that they were annual festivals but they were not and to be honest ' None of us ' in London ' had ever heard about Glastonbury Fayre ' 

 

look at the years

 

1970 - 1971 - {1978 was not a official festival} so its no big surprise and I would bet it was mainly locals .

 

There is no way would we have gone in 1979 if it was not for a booker walking into the Half Moon in Putney - my mate was in a folk band and the booker booked them on the spot.

 

No actual money but we did get free entry - I got to go because I was able to drive - think there was eight or nine of us who showed up. 

 

Now you can walk into a bar ' today ' in Timbuktu and ask a person ' where is Glastonbury festival held ' and they could find out in a few seconds but in 1979 Pilton did not appear on the bloody map - we got basic instructions - don't forget that there was no traffic Stewards - there was no AA signs showing you the way - it was all very basic - and no fancy passes either - all we had was a half sheet of paper signed by this guy and a few dots showing where it was - we are still not sure how we found it - sure once we drove close to Pilton there was a little sign up but a person had to be on the right road.

 

When you look at the thousands who now work at Glastonbury you really have to wonder how they managed it back then - there was not even stage security.

 

Without a doubt what changed it around was CND in 1981 - every CND shop had the poster up and they had changed the name to ' Glastonbury Festival ' - visit any shop in the UK and you would not miss the poster - they also were sharing the advert costs so it was appearing in the music press.

 

The 80's had more outdoor concerts in London paid by the GLC - not many people will know this - it was one of the concerts that linked up Tony Hollingsworth and the people who formed the Workers Beer Company - Tony Hollingsworth worked for Michael Eavis and he was the one that got the WBC a foot in the door of Glastonbury - I believe it was called ' Jobs for a Change Festival 7 July 1985 ' -    London Evening Standard claimed there was 500,000 - anyway they all got together and that is how the WBC ended up running the main bars at Glasto 1986 - I was at that concert but this is before I was allowed to join the WBC so I was not aware about the connection.

 

I was also at The Anti-heroin Campaign concert 25 August 1985

 

- see poster - the name that was missing was ' Vera Lynn ' - I kid you not 

 

We just showed up - must have been ten of us - most of us on acid - smuggled in all the drink - it was a big park - no big walls up - Security was taken the drink from people - we walked in picked a big tree and got my friends to sit close and I was able to walk out - got to the car picked up the drink and then tossed the drink over the wall close to the tree - we must have been spotted because later on there was more drink flying over that wall but some of it was not picked up !!

 

Vera Lynn stole the show - now how many times in your life will you see Vera Lynn with backing band Hawkwind ? - the best was still to come when ' everyone ' who played that day showed up and she sung Old Lang Syne at the end of the show -

 

lucky enough some of my friends lived close to Crystal palace so I was able to kip down with them as there was no way I would have been able to touch the car. 

 

images are from ' ukrockfestivals.com ' - Glasto 1982 

 

[5co77ie]

thanks for that - I'd forgotten about CND shops

[glasto-worker]

thanks for that - I'd forgotten about CND shops

I don't know how many are left but in the 80's CND shops were all over the place + they had access to the whole CND mailing list { in the early 1980s it claimed 90,000 national members and a further 250,000 in local branches so a big network} - sure the tickets were sold in some record shops but that was in the South West.There was CND charity shops and CND Bookshops so they reached a lot of people who may not have been members themselves.

 

I am sure that some people may forget that it was not televised until 1994 so getting the word out to many more.

 

In the 80's there was no mad rush to get tickets - just walk in - cash down and you could buy as many tickets as you wanted although I think they changed that in the late 80's

[matt2007]

I knocked on the door of a couple advertising Glastonbury tickets in their window of their house in St Albans in 1987 and bought them there and then.......they ran the local CND group

[glasto-worker]

I knocked on the door of a couple advertising Glastonbury tickets in their window of their house in St Albans in 1987 and bought them there and then.......they ran the local CND group

 

cant find a good copy of the main side as it did list all the places where you could drop in and buy them .

 

I may have some of the old posters but they are stuck in my shed with six foot high brambles so will not be rushing out to find out .

 

Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians - now I for sure would not have missed that.

 

I bet there is many who would love to be able to do that now.